On a blistering day last week, I went out to Sajiya gallery in Tokyo for the exhibition by “gamaguchi” creator Kaori Miyamoto.
With plant-dyeing and hand-woven clothes…..
Each “gamaguchi” purse is one of a kind with the pieced clothes which Miyamoto took the effort to collect and sew. Among a various and tons of purses at the exhibition, I was captivated by the one as shown in the picture above.
How can I express its coloration? It is not enough at all to just say “greenish”. It displays a rich colors and beautiful green gradation. “This is azure-blue. That is yellowish-green….” I can’t help voicing the color of each piece.
“Since I started living in the country, the scenery is predominantly fields and forests. One day I found myself choosing nature-toned colors more than before for my projects.” Miyamoto said in a shy tone on the opening day of exhibition.
It was several years ago when Miyamoto closed her own shop in Osaka to start a country life. Since then, she has devoted herself to a creative activity and tending a field.
Seeing a bit of the creator’s life through her clothes, we can become even more attached to her projects.
Encountering, collecting, and making up creation…. How excited it is to image that each “encountered” cloth is integrated to be a part of the work.
As Miyamoto’s lifestyle has changed her color choice for her creations, your lifestyle and way of being may affect your works. It is exciting but a bit concerning that your productions might express yourself.
Thinking so, it is really important to value every minute of each of our lives, isn’t it?
(*) “Gamaguchi” is a coin purse with one metal clasp. It literally means toad (gama) + mouth (kuchi/guchi) in Japanese. It does look like a toad’s big mouth when the purse is opened.
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